Mississippi Humanities Council

Speakers Bureau: Mississippi Telling
2017-06-10 09:00 - 10:00 (America/Chicago) | The Blueberry Storytelling Festival, 155 Spring Hill Road , Poplarville , MS, 39470
The presenter provides an overview of the storytelling Renaissance in America with emphasis upon the oral tradition in Mississippi. The literary tradition of Mississippi owes much to the rich storytelling legacy that riddles the tales of our families and our communities as reflected in the works of many of our best authors: Welty, Wright, Faulkner, Henley, Williams. As part of the presentation, Dr. Jernigan performs as a story teller calling upon on her rich repertoire of original tales and literary masterpieces gearing her choices of tales according to her audience and offers material for children and adults.
Rebecca Moore Jernigan is an internationally recognized scholar and professional storyteller who resides in Oxford.

Fleeting, Fickly Sports
2017-05-24 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | William Winter Building, 200 North St , Jackson , MS, 39201, United States
The black freedom struggle of the post-World War II era unleashed many challenges and changes on Mississippi. No area of the state’s society, politics, and culture went untouched by this great social movement. That included the world of sports at Mississippi’s all-white universities. During the 1950s and early 1960s, institutions of higher education, state political leaders, and the general public debated whether or not Mississippi schools should even play non-southern universities with integrated teams. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, the challenge of race pivoted to the prospect of recruiting black athletes at institutions such as the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi. By the late 1970s, as seen in the championship women’s basketball teams at Delta State, intercollegiate athletics reflected many of the changes taking place in the state and around the country. This talk explores the relationship between sports and social changes at such a pivotal time in Mississippi’s modern history.
Dr. Charles Westmoreland Jr. teaches history at Delta State University. His expertise is in modern Southern history with an emphasis on the role of religion in public life and politics.

Speakers Bureau: How We Got the Blues in Mississippi
2017-05-24 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | Old Capitol Museum, 100 South State Street, Jackson , MS, 39201
Dr. Willis teaches educators how to integrate blues education into their lesson plans for social studies, geography and history. She gives them background information, current events, historical landmarks that are significant to blues music and blues artists. She shows photos, posters and records from her private collection and also gives first-hand information from her personal experiences of having been married to an internationally known blues artist.
Brinda Willis is a writer for the Jackson Advocate newspaper and an expert on blues and African American foodways.

Mississippi Native Daughters Speak
2017-05-20 | Oakland Presbyterian Church, MS
GRACE Mississippi is hosting an open forum, free to the public, where three Mississippi authors/writes will read from their current literary work. Each author will speak for 30-45 minutes to the audience. Following, the projector direct will facilitate an open discussion whereby the audience is free to ask questions to authors about the subject matters of their published work. Dr. Alysia Burton Steele and Cora Givhan will speak on topics of racial segregation. Patrica Neely-Dorsey will read from her latest books of poems-Reflections of a Mississippi Magnolia and Mississippi In Me. This event will take place on May 20th at Oakland Presbyterian Church.

Speakers Bureau: Comeback Dressing
2017-05-18 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Mississippi Craft Center, 950 Rice Road , Ridgeland , MS , 39157
The speaker will discuss how the famous Mississippi salad dressing evolved out of the Greek restaurant community in Jackson and flourished throughout the state.
Malcolm White is a restaurateur, promoter, food enthusiast, author of numerous articles about food in Mississippi and creator of award-winning recipes in the Southern genre. He is the director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.

Mississippi River Basin Model Presentation
2017-05-13 08:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Buddy Butts Park, 6180 McRaven Road , Jackson , MS, 39209
The Mississippi River Basin model is located in Jackson, MS is a scale replica of the Mississippi River Basin. The Site, which sprawls over 200 acres, was built by local Mississippians and World War II German prisoners-of-war who were housed in Camp Clinton nearby. The model was an imperative scientific experiment that , in the time before computers could efficiently perform complicated numerical analysis, would determine how the mighty Mississippi River could be contained.
This event is to educated Mississippians on the history of the MRBM and Camp Clinton by providing a presentation on both topics and a guided tour of the MRBM.

Speakers Bureau: A Look at Mande through Traditional Music
2017-05-08 13:30 - 14:30 (America/Chicago) | Delta Blues Museum, 1 Blues Alley , Clarksdale , MS , 38614
This presentation will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mande, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in the musical piece of the legendary Densoba (great warrior) Sunjata. This discussion explores the function of the Mande music and musical instruments, Mande class system, songs, ceremonies and stories. The discussion also examines the influence of West Africa on American culture and why the djembe was outlawed during slavery. Participants will learn about the djembe, its introduction by drummers like Babatunde Olatunji in 1950 and Ladji Camara from Guinea, and how it spread throughout America.
Jerry Jenkins is a musician and educator trained in the music of West Africa.

R.O.O.T.S. of Sunflower County
2017-05-05 | B.B. King Museum, 400 2nd St, Indianola, MS, 38751, United States
“The R.O.O.T.S of Sunflower County”,19 African American young men in Sunflower County are a part of the Sunflower County System Change Project that focuses on narrative change. ‘Story for All’ an organization founded by Angela Zusman, provides the framework for encouraging narrative change in communities through story telling. These young men have committed to not only telling their own story, but also that of those in their community; helping to connect their true narrative with the experiences of their elders, peers, and family members. The year long program trains the young men in collecting oral history and supports skill building in public speaking, team work , and communication.
B.B. King Museum, Indianola, MS
No Cost
Sponsored by Mississippi Center for Justice & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Kim Merchant- 662-887-6570

Prying Open The Door
2017-05-01 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Train Depot, 308 Newman Street , Hattiesburg , MS
Prying Open The Door. The desegregation and resegregation of Hattiesburg High. Hattiesburg High students are documenting and sharing oral histories of the racial desegregation and resegregation of their high school.

Speakers Bureau: How to Teach Blues in the Schools
2017-04-29 10:30 - 11:30 (America/Chicago) | Soule’ Steam Works, 1808 4th Street, Meridian , MS

Documentary-Race Relations in Yazoo City
2017-04-28 20:00 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | MS
Mississippi Public Broadcasting will air “Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town,” a documentary film looking back at the history and integration of Yazoo City schools and how race relations have developed since then.
In 1970, under a ruling by the Supreme Court, Mississippi finally implemented full integration of its public schools. The issue had been the center of heated controversy throughout the South in the 16 preceding years since the groundbreaking decision of Brown v. the Board of Education declared racially segregated public schools to be unconstitutional.
In contrast to many other school districts in Mississippi, the integration of the Yazoo City schools went smoothly and without incident. In fact, the peaceful manner in which the black and white communities came together to see the transition through was widely seen as a model for success, at least for a couple of decades.
Renowned writer and Yazoo City native Willie Morris returned to his hometown to cover the integration story for Harper’s, resulting in his 1971 book, “Yazoo: Integration in a Deep Southern Town.”
Fast forward to 2015, when David Rae Morris, filmmaker and son of the late Willie Morris, produced a documentary further exploring Yazoo City’s unique integration story. Through in-depth interviews with former students, faculty, administrators and community leaders, “Yazoo Revisited: Integration and Segregation in a Deep Southern Town” examines the factors that enabled Yazoo City to successfully integrate, and how things began to regress in later years.
The documentary will premiere on MPB Television on Friday, April 28 at 8 p.m., with an encore presentation on Sunday, April 30 at 2 p.m. To watch a preview, visit www.mpbonline.org.

The Lebanese in America traveling exhibit
2017-04-28 17:00 - 2017-04-29 16:00 (America/Chicago) | The Museum of Mississippi Delta, 1608 Highway 82 West , Greenwood , MS , 38930
The Lebanese in America traveling exhibit is coming to The Museum of the Mississippi Delta in Greenwood April 17-May 12, 2017. The exhibit contains eight narrative pop-up displays with photographs, graphics, and QR Codes linked to supplementary materials. The panels describe the history, conditions and impact of Lebanese immigration nationally, offering a framework in which a similar, regional-focused exhibit could be produced in the future. An opening reception for the exhibition to which the Lebanese and Syrian community will be invited to attend and participate in sharing their stories. Both the exhibit and the workshop will be free and open to the public.

Speakers Bureau: Music of the War Between the States
2017-04-28 09:00 - 2017-04-29 09:00 UTC | Brice’s Crossroads Battlefield, 2680 Natchez Trace Parkway , Tupelo, MS, 38804, United States
Music of this period played on the Appalachian Mountain dulcimer, banjo-mier and wooden spoons. Period clothing worn. Audience may help play the spoons.
Mr. Arinder has studied Early American and Native American cultures for nearly 50 years, assembling a sizeable collection of artifacts which he uses to leade living history programs for local schools, civic clubs and museums. He volunteers as an interpretive historian with the Natchez Trace Parkway, leading monthly history and pioneer craft demonstrations at the Visitor Center in Tupelo.
Brice’s Crossroads Battlefield, Baldwyn, MS 9AM
No Cost
Sponsored by Brice’s Crossroads & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Edwina Carpenter, 662-365-3969

Speakers Bureau: The Civil Rights Movement in Contemporary Times
2017-04-22 11:30 - 12:30 (America/Chicago) | Fondren Presbyterian Church, 3220 Old Canton Rd, Jackson , MS , 39216
Flonzie Wright Brown has been involved in the Civil Rights Movement since 1963. Her presentation examines the role of youths in the movement, the importance of women in the struggle, the impact of slavery and lessons learned and the impact today of obtaining the right to vote. Ms. Brown recaps the Civil Rights Movement and the lessons learned, and examines current strategies for achieving more community involvement, participation and proactive involvement. She stresses the importance of continued voter registration and education, chronicling and preserving our history, getting out the vote and increasing community awareness, interest and involvement.
During the Civil Rights Movement, Ms. Wright helped register thousands of voters in Mississippi. She was the first African American female elected official in Mississippi post-Reconstruction. She is a best-selling author of Looking Back to Move Ahead, which chronicles her journey growing up in a small Mississippi town through her work in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s. She worked directly with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many other humanitarian activists, both locally and nationally. Her experiences are documented in a 1997 film entitled Standing on My Sisters’ Shoulders.

Speaker Bureau: The Civil Rights Movement in Contemporary Times
2017-04-22 11:30 - 12:30 (America/Chicago) | Fondren Presbyterian Church, 3220 Old Canton Rd, Jackson , MS , 39216

"Wade In Witness" Remembrance Program and Roll Call
2017-04-20 17:30 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Gruich Community Center, 591 Howard Ave, Biloxi , MS
Fifty-Seven years ago, Biloxi’s beaches were restricted to white persons only. In 1960, local African American residents led by physician, Dr. Gilbert Mason, Sr., waded into the waters of the Mississippi Sound, to challenge the beach segregation, triggering a riot by white residents. Federal officials intervened with litigation that desegregated the beach. To commemorate the participants and educate the public, a ceremony will take place on April 20, 2017 at 5:30pm at Gruich Community Center, Biloxi, MS.

Icons of Statehood comes to Winona
2017-04-19 10:00 - 2017-04-27 17:00 UTC | Winona- Montgomery County Public Library, 115 N Quitman St, Winona, MS, 38967, United States
On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the nation’s twentieth state. Starting in 2016 a new traveling exhibit featuring Mississippi’s first constitution and the first U.S. flag to include a star for the new state will tour the state to celebrate the approaching bicentennial. The project will partner with nine local institutions across the state to host these artifacts and develop relate programming, which will be open to the public and include interpretive displays, presentations, and children’s activities over a two-day period at each site.
April 19, 10a.m.- 5p.m.
April 20, 8a.m.-5p.m.
Winona, MS – Winona- Montgomery County Public Library
No Cost
Sponsored by MS Department of Archives & History & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Krista Sorenson 601-576-6976

Behind the Big House program & tour
2017-04-19 - 2017-04-23 | MS
Behind the Big House: Preserving the Histories and Architecture of Slavery is an educational program initiated by Preserve Marshall County & Holly Springs, Inc. held in conjunction with the Annual Pilgrimage that explores the area’s rare extant inventory of structures related to slavery. Now in its fourth season, the tour has garnered rave reviews for its innovative, inclusive approach to heritage tourism. To learn more about the people and places behind Behind the Big House, please visit http://www.preservemarshallcounty.org.
Holly Springs, MS
No Cost
Sponsored by Preserve Marshall County & Holly Springs, Inc & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Chelius Carter- 901-336-4090

Speakers Bureau: Mississippi in the Great War
2017-04-13 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Pontotoc County Library, 111 North Main Street , Pontotoc, MS, 38863, United States
School textbooks rarely mention much about the Great War — World War I. Although the United States only participated in the final two yeas of the conflict, it changed the world. Drawing on letters published in Mississippi newspapers from across the state, this presentation tells the story of Mississippians who participated in the Great War. The letters were written by soldiers, aviators, sailors and YMCA and Red Cross workers. They reflect the experiences of young men as they endured training camp, voyaged across the Atlantic to France and participated in horrific battles. The letters also reveal the experiences of nurses and humanitarian workers, describing drills, uniforms, parades and parties–a”lighter” view of the war.
Anne Webster is a retired archivist at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Speakers Bureau: Flannery O'Connor: In Her Own Words
2017-04-11 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | Quisenberry Library Clinton MS, 605 E. Northside Drive , Clinton , MS, 39056
A dramatic monologue drawn from the nonfiction prose of Flannery O’Connor. The one-woman show incorporates O’Connor’s opinions on a variety of subjects, including writing, other writers, religion, and peacocks.
Beverly Fatherree is an English Instructor at Hinds Community College. She has performed as O’Connor at the Flannery O’Connor Birthplace Trust and in a variety of other locations in the south.

2017 Petal Southern Miss Powwow
2017-04-08 - 2017-04-09 | Willie Hinton Park, 718 S. Main Street, Petal, MS, 39465, United States
Mississippi has been home to numerous Indian tribes including Choctaws, Chickasaws, Natchez, Creeks, Houmas and others. Mississippi History begins with these tribes. Powwows are events where Native Americans and others gather, celebrate our cultures and share our cultures with Natives and non Natives. With Native Americans only 2% of the U.S. population, to make this event successful we need for you to come out and join us as we celebrate the Indian heritage of this area. The event is free so come powwow with us at Willie Hinton Park on April 8th and 9th.

Philosophical Fridays: Are We Still of Any Use?-the Emerged Field of Religion and Animals
2017-04-07 14:00 - 15:30 UTC | Gonzales Auditorium, 1999 Pearl St, Hattiesburg, MS, 39401, United States
Many Mississippians today have had scant exposure to genuine philosophical inquiry and debate and know little about philosophy’s long, distinguished history. Even those who may have taken a philosophy course in college likely studies only selected topics and have a limited sense of the wide range of issues philosophers discuss. As a result, many people think of philosophy merely as an abstract intellectual pursuit with little relevance to everyday affairs of their lives.
In response, the Department of Philosophy and Religion at USM is continuing its popluar “Philosophical Fridays” speakers series in the fall of 2016 and spring of 2017. The series features respected philosophers giving presentations on a variety of issues. Their talks will be non-technical and readily accessible, of students, faculty, and community members. These events will take place at 2:00p.m. on Fridays in the Liberal Arts Building on the Hattiesburg Campus. The topics will range from a discussion about linguistic violence, ethics in a pluralistic world, and free will, to moral psychology.
April, 7, 2017
Paul Waldau, Canisius College
Title; “Are We Still of Any Use?-the Emerged Field of Religion and Animals”
USM, Gonzales Auditorium 2:00-3:30pm
No Cost
Sponsored by USM & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Dr. Samuel Bruton-601-266-4518

2017 Sammy O. Cranford Memorial History Lecture
2017-04-06 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Delta State University, 1003 W Sunflower Rd, Cleveland, MS, 38733, United States
The Delta State Community is hosting the 2017 Sammy I. Cranford Memorial History Lecture. Dr. Calvin White, Jr., Associated Professor and Chair of the Department of History at the University of Arkansas, will deliver a lecture entitled, “Standing at the Vanguard: Oscar Staton De Priest, A Black Congressmen Amongst White Segregationists.” This lecture will take place April 6th at 7pm in the Jobe Hall Auditorium on the DSU Campus. It’s free and open to the public.

Can We Achieve This Togetherness in Our Time?
2017-04-06 18:00 - 20:00, 2017-03-30 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | Eureka School, 412 East 6th Street, Hattiesburg, MS, 39401, United States
Please join The Freedom50 Research Group as they present critical perspectives of the Clyde Kennard case in relation to racial progress at the University of Southern Mississippi by means of a three-part lecture series in the spring of 2017. This lecture series is designed to examine the (in)visible signs of cultural change that have occurred at the university and the challenges it faces as a public institution marked by a sordid history of race relations as it also extend to the entire state.
Program will be held March 23rd, March 30th, and April 6th, 2017 from 6-8 p.m.
Eureka School, 412 East 6th Street, Hattiesburg, MS 39401
No Cost
Sponsored by University of Southern Mississippi & Mississippi Humanities Council
For more information:
Dr. Loren Saxton Coleman-601-266-5811

Speakers Bureau: Southern Wisdom from Delta Church Mothers
2017-04-01 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Chicago) | Whitehill M.B. Church, 1987 S Eason Blvd., Tupelo, MS
Award-winning journalist Alysia Burton Steele’s Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom is a visual and lyrical tribute to African American church mothers from the Mississippi Delta. This groundbreaking collection of oral histories and photographs tells nationally and internationally significant stories rooted in the Mississippi Delta, a distinctive region called “The Cradle of American Culture” by the National Park Service and “The Most Southern Place on Earth” by historian James Cobb.The Mississippi Delta produced cotton, Blues music and the Civil Rights Movement. It shaped the lives and contributions of numerous cultural and social justice icons—black and white, women and men—including Fannie Lou Hamer, Eudora Welty, Emmett Till, William Faulkner, Medgar Evers, Richard Wright, Tennessee Williams…and the celebrated Delta Jewels church mothers. Come sit a spell and hear the revered voices of these living figures of history captured by Alysia Burton Steele.
Alysia Burton Steele is a visual educator at the University of Mississippi, with a focus on oral history and visuals. For this presentation, Steele shares her experiences finding and nurturing relationships to earn trust to collect stories and share them with audiences. She shares audio and video stores as part of her presentation.

Icons of Statehood comes to Amory
2017-03-29 10:00 - 2017-03-30 17:00 UTC | Amory Regional Museum, 801 3rd St S, Amory, MS, 38821, United States
On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the nation’s twentieth state. Starting in 2016 a new traveling exhibit featuring Mississippi’s first constitution and the first U.S. flag to include a star for the new state will tour the state to celebrate the approaching bicentennial. The project will partner with nine local institutions across the state to host these artifacts and develop relate programming, which will be open to the public and include interpretive displays, presentations, and children’s activities over a two-day period at each site.
Mar. 29, 10a.m.- 6p.m.
Mar. 30, 9a.m.- 5p.m.
Amory, MS- Amory Regional Museum
No Cost
Sponsored by MS Department of Archives & History & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Krista Sorenson 601-576-6976

The Twenty-Fourth Oxford Conference for the Book
2017-03-29 09:00 - 2017-03-31 18:00 UTC | The Overby Center, 555 Grove Loop, University, MS, 386777, United States
The 2017 Oxford Conference for the Book will be held on March 29-31, 2017. The annual event celebrates books, reading, and writing while also examining the practical concerns on which the literary arts and the humanities depend, including the process of finding publication, writing methods, and the state of publishing. The conference convenes fiction and non-fiction writers, Journalists, poets, publishers, teachers, students, librarians, and literacy advocates for three days of readings, lectures, panels, workshops, and social events celebrating the written word. Please join us the for the twenty-fourth annual Book Festival.Oxford Conference for the Book
The Overby Center, University of Mississippi-9am-6pm
No Cost
Sponsored by University of Mississippi & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
James Thomas Jr.-662-915-3374

12th Annual Veterans of MS Civil Rights Movement
2017-03-29 - 2017-04-02 | Tougaloo College, 500 W County Line Rd, Tougaloo, MS, 39174, United States
The Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, Inc., (VMCRM) in conjunction with Tougaloo College will host a three-day conference designed to inspire and empower today’s youth through social activism, education and organizing. The eight (12th) annual conference is scheduled to be held March 29-April 2, 2017 on the campus of Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, MS.
Tougaloo College
No Cost
Sponsored by Tougaloo College & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Yasmine Gabriel 601-228-2204

Speakers Bureau: Mississippi in the Work of Sherwood Bonner
2017-03-28 12:00 UTC | Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, 314 7th St N, Columbus, MS, 39701, United States
Holly Springs native Katherine Sherwood Bonner McDowell (1849-1883) left her Mississippi Home in 1873 to pursue a literary career in the Northeast. She became “Sherwood Bonner,” a writer whose witty stories shed light on the dynamics of region, race, and gender in both the reconstruction South and post-Civil War America. Bonner enjoyed brief notoriety during her own time, but the recent republication of her work has drawn serious critical attention to it and the picture it offers of the writer’s relationship to her time and place.
Kathryn B. McKee is McMullan Associate Professor of Southern Studies and Associate Professor of English at the University of Mississippi.
Columbus-Lowndes Public Library- 12:00p.m.
No Cost
Sponsored by Columbus-Lowndes Public Library & MS Humanities Council
For more information:
Mona Vance-Ali 662-329-5304
